It’s always there, the lack of empathy on the part of right-wing extremists. We all remember the GOP presidential debate audience that cheered for letting people die without health insurance. More recently, we’ve seen an eruption of fear and hatred on the right directed at children fleeing the violence in some Central American countries.

Today we have the story of a California man who came home and discovered two burglars in his house.

“The lady, she couldn’t run as fast as the man, so I shot her in the back twice,” Greer explained. “She’s dead, but he got away.”

“She says, ‘Don’t shoot me, I’m pregnant! I’m going to have a baby!’ And I shot her anyway,” Greer said.

John Amato attempted to explain the “vile behavior” of wingers as an effort to emulate their heroes, the rich:

The thing about right-wing populism is that it’s manifestly self-defeating: those who stand to primarily benefit from this ideology are the wealthy, which is why they so willingly underwrite it. It might, in fact, more accurately be called “sucker populism.”

The 1 Percent want to keep us afraid, desperate, and divided by ignorance and prejudice. Otherwise, Americans might decide to blame Wall Street for crashing our economy. We might demand an end to pointless wars, or want to get rid of tax laws that are unfair to the middle class. We might realize that government health insurance is the best kind. Who knows, we might even want other good things from government such as infrastructure improvements, Internet access, cheap renewable energy programs…

I don’t watch them, but from the little I’ve been forced to see while at the grocery store, I’d say this includes the fake reality referred to as “The Duck Dynasty”. I don’t care if you got your creds from the Jerry Springer show or get a million, making your own country look foolish; white trash will always be what it is, and nobody will ever stop assholes from having opinions.

I hate having to write that last paragraph, because – well – I’m an old white man and I feel I’m getting blamed for turning this country into a worldwide farce, when I’ve done a lot to try and stop it.

Personally, I prefer to pay attention to attractive young people with new ideas, but instead I get these bearded, stinking, fakes who are out for a buck and getting helped by – of all things ; The Arts and Entertainment channel?

Jesus! Help us now!

The Anthem:

Personally, I believe the loss of Ted Nugent’s reality show left a terrible void which had to be filled with…

“The Utah Shooting Sports Council is offering a free class Friday to qualified educators who want to carry concealed firearms in schools.

“The class is open not only to teachers but also all other staff that work in schools,” said Clark Aposhian, chairman of the council. “Because of the popularity last year, we wanted to offer it again.” SLTrib article

May 2013: Clark was arrested and jailed for driving a 2-ton army truck to his ex-wife’s house in Cottonwood Heights and making threats to one of the people who lived there. A few days later, the Judge confiscated his guns.

Going back to the done to death argument over George Zimmerman, it should be noted that there are some things that are completely overlooked in this case. One major thing is his behavior. He was first off a Neighborhood watch captain. Secondly, he decided to confront someone who he thought was dangerous. If that wasn’t enough, four days after Zimmerman was acquitted, he “rescued” a family from a car accident. If this country wasn’t this polarized, this should have alarmed everyone because this behavior strongly correlates with Hero Syndrome. Hero Syndrome is a behavioral pattern where a person wants to be recognized and appraised for heroic deeds and these people are known to look for trouble and even cause trouble to be the hero of the situation. Even the FBI has stated that Zimmerman has this.

This is important because this raises a question. Why was he able to own a gun in the first place? You are telling me that he has a personality problem where he actively seeks trouble and can even create trouble for others just so he can be a hero and yet he can own a gun? In about ever mass shooting in the US, the underlying factor has always been mental disorders. Yet most of these killers have been legally capable of obtaining a gun even when psychologists have diagnosed them as dangerous to themselves and others. Why is psychology not being addressed?

“Oh shoot,”

Clark muttered under his breath when he discovered his ‘baby’ had been stolen out of the the back seat of his car as it sat parked in front of his house. He walked back toward his open garage.

For the first time in his life, Clark knew the meaning of pants-around-ankles. He shuttered to think about his next move. ‘Do I call the police,’ Clark thought to himself, ‘how will I face my gun safety students…or do I keep quiet and hope no one notices?’

“Shoot, shoot, SHOOT” he said, out loud this time.

Ever since the accident at the gun range, saying ‘shoot’ three times in a row always got Clark’s adrenaline going. This time was no different. Clark’s instincts kicked in. With the deftness of an eagle in flight, Clark swept the Glock out of his waistband cocking it with his arms outstretched above his head. Widening his stance, Clark slowly lowered the gun to eye level and squinted as if transfixed on an imaginary enemy. Clark was a huge Clint Eastwood fan. He had perfected the “Clint squint” by first grade.

Seeing no immediate threat on the bucolic street at the end of his driveway, Clark spun around, crouched, and with both hands, aimed his gun toward the garage door.

“Don’t fuck with me,” Clark warned out loud as he crept back through the empty garage into his empty house, hoping none of the neighbors had noticed.

A tingle ran up his spine. His mind raced back to his childhood and the endless days playing Cops and Robbers with his best friend Lil’ Clyde.

“Damned, those were the days” Clark said to himself as he straightened out and placed the Glock back in his pants. Stepping into the serenity of his empty kitchen, his mind went blank as it often did, without notice.

Unable to remember what he had come into the house for, Clark went over to his old vinyl record player and put on his favorite ZZ Top album and began doing air guitar. As he arched his back, he felt the barrel of the Glock press into his flesh.

“Shoot” Clark said out loud, remembering the was a bullet in the chamber. Then Clark remembered why he had come back into the house.

By now everyone has heard about this story. It highlights a couple of things.

1. Even the most responsible gun owners cannot protect us from the unintended consequences of gun ownership.

2. Refer to #1.

Personally, I’d like to know why Clark had a thermal-imaging scope attached to his rifle. As a lobbyist for the gun industry, I imagine Clark Aposhian has plenty of exotic freebies kicking around his house. But why was it actually ON THE GUN? What the fuck? Is there a new shooting sport we should know about?

Gail Turpin
Several observations after spending the afternoon in the Utah House Judiciary Committee hearings on 2 gun bills. Rep. Brian King and Rep. Patrice Arent are such a credit to their constituents and the Utah Democratic party. Both so smart and asked such relevant questions. Nineveh Dinha of Channel 13 is drop dead gorgeous. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Jean Welch Hill, who spoke eloquently on behalf of the Catholic Diocese of SLC on the need for reasonable gun control. I sure wish she was our Attorney General right now! The room was packed., complete with the guy with an assault rifle on his back, and the guy who was out of order so security came in and took him aside. I saw some of my favorite people and legislators, and it really is amazing to watch democracy in action.

Smoke and flames are seen over homes as the Dump Fire burns near Saratoga Springs on Friday, June 22, 2012. JIM MCAULEY/Daily Herald

Last June 21, target shooters ignited a wildfire near Saratoga Springs that burned 5,507 acres and cost $2.1 million to fight, and resulted in the evacuation of 9,000 residents from their homes. More than 20 Utah wildfires are started by irresponsible target shooters every year.

Why is target shooting causing wildfires? Don’t firearms enthusiasts go to firing ranges where safety precautions are the first priority? Well… regular firing ranges don’t let you shoot an AR-15 at an exploding star target (video), a Tannerite target, or use tracer or incendiary rounds.

Although Utah is one of the most heavily-armed states in the nation, our state government cannot regulate target shooting. Not even in an emergency, such as last year.

Utah code 76-10-500, passed in 1999, states: “Unless specifically authorized by the Legislature by statute, a local authority or state entity may not enact or enforce any ordinance, regulation, or rule pertaining to firearms.” A 2004 law contains similar phrasing.

It seemed like a simple fix for Utah State Senator Margaret Dayton (R-Orem), and State Rep. Curt Oda (R-Clearfield) to introduce SB120, a bill to allow the state forester to restrict target shooting when it would create a high risk of wildfires. It sailed through committee, and Dayton said she has the votes to pass it. But then the gun nuts went ballistic. As the Senate started to debate the measure Friday, Dayton pulled it and told senators that she may not bring it up again.

Once again, it appears that a common-sense measure with majority support cannot withstand the fury of the gun fanatics. Most likely, our state will remain powerless to stop preventable wildfire emergencies caused by yahoos with assault rifles.

Idaho resident Kenneth Nielsen, 37, and Jeffrey Conant, 42, of Washington state, were originally charged in 4th District Court with reckless burning, a class A misdemeanor, and using prohibited targets, a class B misdemeanor.

… the pleas were part of a deal in which prosecutors agreed to drop the reckless burning charges, and won’t request jail time at sentencing.

The two men each agreed to pay $5,000 in restitution.

Charging documents state that Nielsen and Conant were target shooting near Saratoga Springs at 11:30 a.m. on June 21, when an explosive target ignited dry weeds and spread to burn the mountainside, court documents state.

Fire investigators discovered packaging linked to an explosive target the men used during their shooting session. A fingerprint on the packaging was traced to Nielsen, court documents state.

Obama should exercise his presidential authority to effect sensible gun control nationally for two reasons:

1. It bring a badly needed Supreme Court challenge that will likely involve the “Militia” part of the second amendment.

2. It will turn up the volume for historians and constitutional experts in a broad national debate in which second-amendment-extremist will learn a more reasonable interpretation of the second amendment; one that is supported by fact and history instead of the version Justice Scalia smeared like skid marks into our national undies.

We are finally beginning to have an honest discussion about the true meaning of the Second Amendment. Until Sandy Hook, gun rights extremist managed to dominate the conversation. They were allowed to ignore the “A well regulated Militia, being necessary” part.

Here is a PERFECT EXAMPLE from an interview by Nashville’s WSMV-TV on Friday.

It is a fact that the average James Yeager and other Second Amendment Advocates cannot actually recite the whole sentence:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

And who is that? James Yeager, CEO of Tactical Response, a company that specializes in selling exactly the types of weapons we don’t need, and then training you to use them. Apparently to overthrow your government.

Sadly that is not his original channel video. Why? Because he is a total coward, and already took the original down. But on the internet, things have a tendency to pop back up again.

I eagerly await all the true patriot tea bagger supporters of freedom and haters of treasonous people who I am sure are already formulating a response to remove this man who just explained that he is planning on committing treason. I am sure they are shutting him done as I type this.

You know how people sometimes say “if only we had warning before he went crazy and flew off the handle” after a shooting? This video is a red flag. A giant screaming red flag. With fireworks.

Increasingly the first red flag that you are the type of mentally unstable person who shouldn’t be allowed to own a gun is that you own a gun.

The National Rifle Association countered with “arm the teachers.” Gun clubs claim hundreds of teachers are applying for free weapons training. Two hundred people showed up for a class in West Valley City, Utah, outside Salt Lake City, on December 27, 2012, for example. Not all of the people who took the course were teachers. But some were, including Carolyn Cain, who teaches special education kids in kindergarten to the 6th grade in Utah County, Utah.